


Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bad Boy Haechan, Competition, M/M, bad boy mark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-13 10:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: What happens when Mark Lee's unofficial Bad Boy of the school title gets challenged by a fiery haired newcomer?Some crack.Some feels.Lots of bad behaviour.





	1. Ohhhhhhhh, Mysterious Mark, I wanna Get Close to You

**Author's Note:**

> Very self indulgent. 
> 
> Not really sure where this will go, but it's not going to be long. 
> 
> For Casey, the girl who wants to set a fire extinguisher off in someones face before she dies.

Mark’s the kind of kid that all the girls want to be with and all the guys want to be. The only problem is that Mark’s mysterious and no one dares breathe around him, never mind speak to him, so no one’s ever gonna be or be with one Mr Mark Lee. He was that kid at school who sped into the parking lot in an old beat up black Toyota, windows rolled down, rock music blaring, screeching his tyres when coming to a stop in the three spots he claimed as his back in junior year. He always knew how to make an entrance. No one would even dare to look in his direction averting their gaze and making space as if he was some sort of royal while whispering about whatever rumour they’d heard about him this time. He never even acknowledged their existence, unless it was to stare into their souls with his fiery eyes if they ever disobey they unspoken rules that surrounded his being.

_‘I heard Mark Lee beat up the guy at the convenience store cos he didn’t give him the right change’_

_‘I heard he didn’t even pay and beat him up anyway for fun!’_

_‘No no no, he just didn’t like his face’_

_‘Ohhhh…’_

Mark Lee was always a mystery. Even to that one kid he kind of just gravitated towards but only communicated to in inaudible mumbles and shrugs. He was the closest thing Mark had to a friend and that was close enough for him, he liked the solitude.

Anyway, today was no different from any other day for Mark. His obnoxious alarm blaring through his ears, rousing him from his slumber, he was never a morning person. He stumbled out of bed dazed and confused but he quickly remembered the one redeeming feature of that particular day, it was Friday. And Friday meant he wouldn’t have to see the drones and clones that inhabited his school for a couple of days after this, it lifted his mood somewhat knowing that fact, but before he could get to the weekend he had to actually wake up and get dressed.

It was hard being Mark Lee, I mean how are supposed to choose just one pair of black ripped jeans and a band tee to go with it when you literally own hundreds? It took him a surprisingly long time to choose, but in the end he opted to go with a classic black Metallica shirt tucked into his black skinny jeans at the front, to go with his usual black docs and black leather jacket. And if it wasn’t enough black he had recently dyed his red hair back to black to highlight the undercut his mom had advised against ‘ _hair grows back, who cares’_. In fact, it seemed like a lot of people cared. The day he had gone into school with the new look there was more outright staring and badly disguised whispering. He had fund it extremely odd that the number of death-stares he had given out that day had reached into the high twenties, when the usual count is around three considering everyone knew their place when it came to the fair skinned boy. It hadn’t even occurred to him that it was because people were going crazy for the ‘New Mark’ until he overheard some girls sitting in front of him.

_‘Did you see Mark’s new hair? Oh my god, he’s so hot, I might actually die! Why is he so unobtainable, I hate my life’_

_‘He’s like a sexy caged raven’_

_‘What the actual fuck?’_

_‘What, he is!’_

_‘Are you okay, you literally sound like some weird furry right now’_

He left after hearing that, but not without his signature smirk covering his face.

He’d gone through his usual routine of kicking and shouting at his car to make it start, they had a complicated relationship, and arrived at school in the usual manner. Everyone staring but not staring, drooling but not drooling, talking about him not to him. Mark pulled up in his usual three spaces, slamming the door shut not bothering to lock it or close the windows, who would even try touch his car anyway?

The day carried on like any other, he didn’t speak in class or engage in any sort of interaction, no notes were written, and no friends were made. No enemies either so it was a good day by Mark’s standards. He sat in his usual spot in the cafeteria, on his usual table in the back, alone, as usual. But something was different. Mark couldn’t put his finger on it, something had shifted, the atmosphere was tense, people were glancing at him more and it hadn’t gone unnoticed. He wondered what ridiculous rumour they had come up with this time, so he stealthily shifted his position to eavesdrop on the group of girls who always sat at the table next to him, _to be close but not too close._ They were kind of his fan club, they liked the confident dark aura and danger that Mark apparently exuded, and Mark wasn’t opposed to the idea of being the unreachable object of so many people’s affection.  

“Well I heard he got expelled for blackmailing a teacher and that’s why he’s here now”

“Oh my god, what do you think he had on the teacher?”

 _‘Where do they get this stuff from? I’ve never been expelled’_ Mark pushed the food on his plate around, and let out a tiny scoff of disbelief, these girls were something else.

“Well I don’t care what he did, he’s hot as fuck, and I need to be near him!”

“Agreed!”

 _‘Ah of course, they still love me’_ The signature smirk that was growing on his lips was wiped away pretty quickly though, being replaced by a wave of confusion.

“We need to find out where he goes for lunch”

_‘I’m literally sat right here’_

“Yeah I’m fairly sure he won’t have any friends after punching that guy for bumping into him in the halls”

‘ _I didn’t beat anyone up today, what’s going on?’_

“Well looks like we’re just going to have to do some investigating into this Haechan and see what he’s about then”

‘ _Haechan_?’

“Agreed, if there’s a new bad boy in school we need to make sure we’re stanning the best one… or worst, I don’t really know how it works. Anyway, meet at mine after school?”

Mark was deep in thought at this point.

_New bad boy?_

_Haechan?_

_Why haven’t heard of him until now?_

_He can’t beat me, I’m the boss round here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be tight, leave a kudos if you want me to continue 😂😂😂
> 
> Have a nice dayyyyyy 
> 
> 😘😘😘


	2. Johnny, Johnny Cool.

Mark was confused. Who was this _Haechan_ guy? Mark’s usual resting scowl face was even more scowlier (It’s a new word, look it up) than usual if that was even possible. He was on his way to his Geography class and it was like Moses had parted the red sea once more the way the other students moved aside for the seemingly angered male. Mark didn’t even notice the change their demeanour, from unwarranted respect to unsure fear, he was too caught up in his own thoughts about the possible consequences of what being displaced as resident bad boy would mean. Back to having no one respect him, back to everyone looking down on him, back to weak Mark who wasn’t worth shit. Yeah, he didn’t really have friends but he didn’t have any before either, at least now people noticed him for once.

His questions on who this guy was were quickly answered when he walked into the classroom, slamming the door into the wall and staring down the teacher as usual, but once again he could feel it. Something was different, something was wrong? He’s used to the room going silent when he walks in but what he’s not used to is everyone openly staring at him.

_‘What the fuck?’_

Mark’s brow furrowed deeply, and his gaze intensified as he stood in front of his usual seat, the seat everyone knew was his, apart from this new kid apparently. Mark took in his appearance for a second noting the orange hair that fell over his dark brown eyes, the way his skin practically glowed under the harsh lights of the classroom. His style was not unlike Mark’s in that both boys favoured black, but this new kid had something else about him that made Mark’s attire seem simple. The new guy was flashy with his accessories and earrings, he even wore a hint of eyeliner to give that real seductive look that all the girls wouldn’t be able to resist ‘ _Damn it’._ It clicked in Mark’s head who this kid must be, and he had to assert his dominance now otherwise it might be too late.

He slammed both his hands on the desk and stared down at the mop of fiery hair as it slowly rose for the owner to meet marks gaze.

“Oi kid, you’re in my seat. Move”

They just stared at each other with intensity, not blinking. No one in the class breathed. Mark’s nostrils flared as Haechan slowly leaned back in his chair letting out a sigh.

“No.” Everyone in the room gasped and murmurs were beginning to spread. You do not defy Mark Lee.

Mark was stunned, what was this kid doing?

“My name’s Haechan, not kid.” The boy said while looking at his chipped nail polish, feigning disinterest in Mark’s words.

Mark lowered his head to directly look into Haechan’s eyes, he lowered his voice into a low growl “I don’t care, move”

Luckily, the altercation came to an abrupt end by the teacher telling Mark to sit down so _‘the damn class can actually start, I don’t have time for your telenovela crap’._ Haechan all the while smiling with a triumphant smirk on his face. Mark grunted out an angry huff and pushed Haechan’s desk closer to his new-found enemies’ body as he turned to face the front of the class. Mark however, had no intention of sitting down so _‘the damn class’_ could start, he was a man of few words and silently left the classroom in a similar fashion to how he had entered it, he wasn’t sticking around for the embarrassment. Haechan just watched him with intrigue, thinking to himself _‘this is gonna be interesting’._

Mark just drove around a while until it was about the time he would arrive home anyway if he hadn’t have skipped class, his parents were kind of absent anyway so the only real problem he might encounter would be if his brother Johnny was home from college for the weekend. It wasn’t worth taking the risk. Despite popular belief Mark did care about some things and not disappointing his brother was one of them.

Mark walked through the door kicking his shoes off, slamming his bag on the floor next to them.

“Whoa, what’s got you all worked up?” Johnny, the ever caring and protective sibling, but sometimes he didn’t know when to just let things go. Mark was clearly still in a bad mood, the crease between his brows and the clenched jaw could attest to that.

“Nothing” Mark kept it simple. Johnny didn’t like simple.

“Is it school? Are you having problems again?” Johnny had switched from caring to concerned real quick, slight panic in his voice evident.

Mark let out a sigh and his face relaxed a little knowing that Johnny would always be there for him. “No, it’s not like that. Just some new kid being annoying.” He hadn’t exactly told Johnny how his fortune had changed at school the beginning of junior year and he wasn’t about to expose himself now. He was happy to let his older brother think that things had magically resolved on their own.

“Hmmm, well teenagers are annoying” Johnny mused while rubbing his chin,

Mark seemed offended, “I’m still a teenager Johnny”, Johnny just laughed making the air clear up and the sun to seem brighter in Mark’s eyes.

“Point still stands! Want some pizza?” With those three words Mark’s bad mood had cleared and he was content being in the company of his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not sure where this id gonna go. 
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Pandabrows) if you wish.
> 
> Also have a weird dodgeball au going on @PandaBrows on Twitter


	3. Football's Coming Home!

It was Monday and Mark’s new least favourite lesson was first on his schedule. Mark made sure to get his usual seat by arriving to class early ‘ _That’ll show him’._ Haechan had been on Mark’s mind all weekend trying to think of how he was going to get the brat back for defying him and belittling him in class, and this was the best he could come up with… really Mark, come on. To be fair Mark hadn’t actually been thinking about ways to get back at Haechan, he’d just been thinking about Haechan. He was equal parts annoyed and curious, he wasn’t sure what about though.

He was here now, and this was the plan he was going with, as dumb as it was. He could tell the moment that Haechan walked in because a hush fell over the other students, a hush usually only reserved for Mark. Mark was irritated but didn’t let it show, raising his head to find the fiery haired boy with his eyes, lopsided smile coming to his face as he casually leaned back in his seat, one hand tapping his pencil on the desk. Haechan locked his eyes with Mark in an act of defiance and laughed at his attempt at asserting dominance, ‘ _two can play this game’._

Haechan sidled up to Mark’s desk placing his hands softly at the corners. “So, you got your precious seat back?” Mark didn’t say anything and just continued to hold the boys gaze, Haechan scoffed, “That’s fine, we’ll see what happens” and he slapped the desk before moving away. Mark would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly worried by the thinly veiled threat, but he brushed it off as Haechan slammed his bag on the floor picking a new seat to reside in for the rest of the class.

The class was silently watching the teacher writing on the board, probably something about tectonic plates or something equally boring, Mark wouldn’t know, he was busy scratching his name into the desk to further claim it as his own when he heard a short angry scream. He looked up to be confronted with a very angry geography teacher staring right at him, the teacher was getting redder and redder,

“MARK LEE GET OUT OF MY CLASS ROOM!” Mark just stared at him puzzled, he was the ‘bad boy’ but he never got kicked out of class, he never even made a sound in class, so it was a bit unusual. The teacher was getting impatient.

“I SAID NOW! You can’t just throw your pencil case at my head and feign ignorance Mr. Lee, it literally has your name on it, you absolute idiot” Mark’s confused features turned into a scowl as he could see Haechan smirking from the corner of his eye. It was no use to protest the teacher at this point, he was pissed, so Mark just got up from his seat angrily stuffing his belongings into his bag and leaving the class. He looked back to see Haechan with a triumphant smile on his lips while sliding from his seat into the one Mark had just vacated giving a small wave in his direction.

_‘Unbelievable’_

If Haechan was going to be petty so was Mark.

 

 

It wasn’t until lunch that Haechan had gone back to his locker, everyone avoiding him in the halls considering what happened last time someone got in his way. He was kinda exhausted from the day already and just wanted it to end, but he had gym after lunch and that was the only thing getting him through. He went to pick his gym stuff up so he wouldn’t have to come back after lunch. It felt kinda heavy though, he could swear it wasn’t this full this morning either. Haechan stilled as he held it by the drawstrings, his suspicions roused. He should have seen it coming really considering it smelled heavily of oranges and looked kinds damp. He opened the bag to find his whole gym kit encased in a shell of Jell-O.

_‘What the fuck?!’_

Haechan’s surprise was quickly replaced with anger and a realisation as to who was most likely responsible. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a familiar figure laughing to himself at the end of the hall propping himself up on a row of lockers, lopsided smile present again.

‘ _Mark’_

Haechan’s glower deepened as he slammed his locker shut after throwing his new orange gym Jell-O into his locker and turned to confront his prankster only to find he had already gone. Haechan’s face changed from anger to slight disappointment before shifting into something more sinister than before.

 

 

Mark arrived in the gym ready for soccer feeling very pleased with himself. He shouldn’t have been though, he should have realised it wasn’t going to end there. He lifted his head when he heard Coach Seo’s whistle blow to get the attention of the class.

_‘Oh shit’_

Haechan was stood right next to the coach, looking suspiciously small next to the giant man.

_‘Cute. Wait what?’_

“Everyone this is Haechan, he’s new, he didn’t bring his kit so that’s why he’s wearing a basketball uniform, so no unnecessary chat.” The coach turned to Haechan with a welcoming smile, “Is there anyone you know so you can pair up for drills?”

‘Oh, double shit.’

Oh, double shit indeed Mark Lee. Haechan snapped his head and eagerly raised his pointer finger in Mark’s direction, causing Mark to flare his nostrils and suck in a breath of unwanted anticipation. Haechan’s smile only grew into a beam of faux innocence, but the coach clearly bought it as he pushed him a little into Mark’s direction. Haechan stood next to Mark, one scowling, one still beaming.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Mark growled in low volume to avoid being kicked out a class he actually enjoyed.

“Oh, I don’t know Mark Lee, maybe someone filled my bag with Jell-O” Haechan sang, the irritation evident in his voice despite the chirpy tone.

“Well maybe someone deserved it for getting someone else kicked out of class” Mark spat back.

Haechan’s demeanour changed to a darker one than before, “Well maybe-“

Haechan was cut off by Coach Seo shouting instructions for the class to form two lines with their pairs and practice passing the ball between each other. Mark started with an aggressive kick, seemingly letting his frustrations out on the bag of air, Haechan responded in kind, each pass becoming more forceful than the last until Haechan ‘accidentally’ kicked the ball straight at Mark’s face causing him to screech and fall to the ground clutching his eye. Coach Seo came running over to inspect the boy, but Mark just shrugged off his touches out of anger.

“Fine, just go sit out for the rest of the period, you might have cooled down by then. And Haechan be more careful next time”

“My foot just slipped coach, I swear it was an accident.”

Mark turned as he reached the door to see Haechan with that god damn triumphant smirk on his face again. _‘Fucker’._ Whatever game the two were playing mark knew he was losing at this point.

 

 

Luckily for Mark, or unluckily, however you want to see it, Mark didn’t see Haechan again until the end of the day. He had just sat in his car, sighing out a sound of relief as his relaxed his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. He was rudely disturbed by the sound of honking. He whipped his head round and stuck it out of the window to see who it was, _‘Of course’._ Mark didn’t say anything and just stared at Haechan.

“How you feeling?” The smugness oozing from Haechan’s whole being.

Mark held his grimace and curtly responded with a single syllable, “Fine”

Haechan scoffed and shook his head, “Who even uses a Jell-O prank anymore, it was so childish”

For some reason Mark saw red, he didn’t know if it was Haechan’s words, his cocky demeanour or that god damn smirk on his face, that he’d seen one too many times that day but Mark was about to do something drastic.

He laughed a sinister giggle and turned away from Haechan, and shouted, “Well maybe this is a bit more adult” and reversed his car into the small gap that Haechan had left between his own car and those surrounding Mark. Mark gave no shits about his own beat up vehicle so didn’t mind the scratches and dints that his little stunt had caused, but Haechan wasn’t too happy about Mark ramming his way through the too small gap knocking out one of his tail lights in the process. Mark just turned his head using Haechan’s faux innocent beam back on the boy.

“Oops, my foot slipped, I swear it was an accident.” He said laughing as he quickly sped away, heart racing as it sunk in what he had actually just done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to get to the crack section but I must be patient *sigh*
> 
> Anyway, 10 more Kudos and I'll give another chapter (25 in total)


	4. My Boyfriend's Back And You're Gonna Be In Trouble.

Mark’s not actually a bad kid, he’s just the product of high school rumours and an unwillingness to speak to anyone to correct them. So, he spent most of last night ruminating on what he had just done to the new school psycho’s car hoping he wouldn’t die before apologising. In private of course, he’s not about to let everyone see his true colours. He’s wearing a different sort of scowl today as he pulls up into the parking lot, screeching to a halt as usual, and maybe everyone can see the worry in his eyes because once again something feels off. People aren’t just whispering today, they’re giggling and screeching when he walks past. Mark realises it’s quite unnerving to have people laugh at you as you walk by them and walks faster until he gets to his locker. He tells himself they’re just talking about the ‘accident’ yesterday and the black eye that’s forming on his face. Must be it. Mark, you’re dumb.

He’s pulling his textbooks from his locker when the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He has that feeling of someone watching him crawling all over his skin.

_‘Shit’_

He closes his locker door to find the fiery haired delinquent that’s currently making his life hell standing there, leaning his upper body on the locker next to his, smirking while dragging his eye from Mark’s head to his feet. Mark slams the locker shut to break Haechan’s obvious staring snapping his eyes to meet Mark’s. Mark sees something he doesn’t like the look of written all over Haechan’s face.  

Mark doesn’t have time for this, and gives Haechan his meanest scowl, “What have you done?” Haechan just laughs, angelic and pure with the slightest of evil undertones if you listened close enough.

“Me?! How dare you!” He say’s in dramatic faux offense, “I’ve been nothing but nice to you and then you ram your car into mine!” Mark is about to correct him when Haechan sighs and puts a hand up to stop Mark in his tracks. “I should thank you really, I had to get dropped off early this morning meaning I had some time to spare and catch up on some good old learning.” Haechan really drove his point home with an enthusiastic fist pump.

Mark’s not stupid, he’s dumb, but not stupid. He thinks it’s best to just wait for whatever Haechan has planned to get him back to materialise than engage with the sun kissed beauty any longer, before he gets even more awkward and nervous around him thinking about what he could have possibly done. Sure Mark, that’s why you’re nervous, nothing to do with the eyeliner. Mark huffs out a forceful breath through his nose as he turns and leaves a beaming Haechan leaning against his locker arms folded across his chest. He only just manages to catch the “ _I think you’re going to have a really good day, congratulations by the way!”_ that Haechan throws his way before he turns the corner to his Math class.

 

 

Mark sits in his usual spot in class, nothing unusual happens. ‘ _Suspicious’._ It continues like that, Mark thinking the worst is going to happen every class with nothing actually happening. Until lunch. He sits in solitude at his table, his fan club haven’t arrived yet so it’s a little quieter than usual. He’s pushing whatever ‘mystery meat Tuesday’ had to offer around his plate when he hears a soft thud of someone sitting down right next to him.

‘ _Oh God, it’s happening.’_

He slowly drags his gaze from his plate to the intruder, to his shock it’s one of his fan club girls. She’s just sat there staring at him with heart eyes, chin resting on one of her hands. It’s silent between the pair for too long and Mark really wants to get rid of her. He can’t have people thinking they can just talk to him.

He manages to stutter out a “Can I help you?”

The girl just smiles and clutches her chest making some weird squealing noise that Mark pulls a repulsed face at, _‘she sounds like a dying pig…tell her she might go away’_ but Mark can’t be mean with words to people’s faces, he can’t even say normal words to people’s faces, so he thinks better of it. She finally speaks actual words to reply to his question once her inner pig has calmed down.

“Oh Mark, you’ve done enough already!” Heart eyes back in full force. “I can’t believe you actually liked me all this time but were just too shy to tell me!” Mark’s breath stops, his ears turn red, and he’s fairly sure he can spot a familiar tuft of orange from the corner of his eye. Mark’s going to have to use his words to get out of this, his one weakness.

“I don’t know what you mean” He says coldly while going back to playing with his food. The girl nudges him playfully _‘Oh my god, I hope no one saw that’_. In actuality, everyone is already sneaking glances at the unusual scene playing out in the back of the dining hall. The girl giggles and pulls something from her pocket. It’s a letter.

“It was just so sweet, I like you because of this bad boy exterior you have going on but knowing you’re so soft on the inside for me just makes it a thousand times better!” The pig squeal is back once more. Mark is confused, his face looks someone just told him that the Earth is a cube and the eels are taking over. It’s one of Mark’s worst nightmares, don’t ask, there was an incident. Mark picks up the letter to clue himself into what was going on.

 

_Dear Fangirl,_

_I’ve been trying to keep this to myself for some time now, but I can’t any longer._

_I need to let you know that you’re very beautiful and have nice hair and things._

_I really like it when you squeal, it reminds me of an animal._

_Please don’t tell the others you are my girlfriend now, they’ll get jealous._

_From your very handsome, brooding, quiet boyfriend,_

_Mark Lee_

_P.S I think I should learn a new facial expression and how to drive better._

 

“I can’t believe you just slipped it into my locker, it’s like some teen movie, I’ve liked you for so long and now you’re my boyfriend!” She clutches the letter to her chest in a very dramatic style, swaying side to side. “I know you said to keep it a secret, but the girls will understand” She says while flashing him some crazy eyes and gripping his arm for dear life.

_‘What the fuck. I’m gonna kill him.’_

Before he can explain to the girl that it wasn’t him who put that letter in his locker and maybe she should have realised after it was addressed to ‘ _Fangirl’_ he’s interrupted by a loud slamming on the table in front of him and four pairs of angry eyes staring at him. If people weren’t looking before they sure were now.

Mark gulps at being surrounded by his fan club, they usually have hearts in their eyes but today it looks like they only have murder on their minds. Mark looks like a baby dear that’s been cornered by a pack of wolves, luckily his brand-new girlfriend is here to save the day. YAY.

“Erm Excuse me, what do you guys want? I’m trying to have lunch with my boyfriend” She says, still glued to his side despite Mark making several attempts to remove the death grip she has on his upper arm.

“Boyfriend? Lami, get off him he’s scum!” Lami was not impressed by that at all and flared her nostrils as she stood in confrontation.

“I know I didn’t tell you earlier that we’re together now, but you can’t just insult him because he has a girlfriend now!” She was visibly enraged, clenching her fists at her sides like a petulant toddler.

“Look!” one of the group shouted, shoving a piece of paper in her face, Lami startled back and took it from her friends’ hand, she started to read it, her face morphing into disbelief. The other three girls also had pieces of paper that she snatched from their hands. The whole time Mark just sat there frozen not knowing what to do staring at the girl he now knew to be Lami, who was turning more and more red flaring her nostrils once again with every breath.

She abruptly turned to Mark who nearly flew out of his seat in shock.

“They all say the same thing Mark! What are you playing at?!” She screamed while shaking the now crumpled notes in his face. Mark flapped his mouth open and closed like a fish, his brain-mouth connection failing him once again.

“He thinks he’s so cool, he just tried to get all five of us to date him! You’re sick!” Shouted one at the back before someone suggested they ‘teach him a lesson’. It was a familiar voice, but not one of the girls.

_‘Well, I give him props for pulling it off’_

Mark ran. He ran through the halls, bag discarded by his dining table. He wasn’t taking any chances, he could hear the group shouting and following him through the halls, he had nowhere to hide. He wasn’t going to risk stopping through, if they were crazy enough to form a fan club they were probably crazy enough to kill him too. He ducked into the male washroom and forced all his weight on the back of the door to prevent anyone entering. They five girls collided with it pounding on the door to be let in making Mark’s body bounce with every hit.

Mark looked to the ceiling,

_‘Jesus, what have I ever done to you!?’_

“Get out here you bastard!”

He groaned and leaned his head against the door, closing his eyes, praying it was a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was going to be more to this chapter but I think it'll work best if it's separated. 
> 
> Leave some comments, it feels like no ones here haha! 
> 
> Have a nice day!


	5. You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will change the way this is chaptered, maybe to just one piece I dunno yet.
> 
> ALSO VERY IMPORTANT
> 
> Please read the end notes!!

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dream and now Mark had another black eye to go with the one Haechan had already given him during gym class. Great. At least the girls said they were even now. But things had changed too much for Mark’s liking in the span of a few days.

He’d been thrown out of class

He’d had a hoard of girls try kill him

He’d been embarrassed in front of the whole cafeteria

He had two black eyes

The list goes on.

He was also changing on the inside, and it was showing. He spent most of his time thinking about a certain person more than anything else and it meant he spent less time maintaining his cool mysterious façade that everyone used to be fear or be madly in love with. People no longer moved as far away from him when he walked down the halls, they didn’t avert their gaze or become quiet when he entered the room, it was like people had something better to focus on. He was being forgotten and it was noticeable. That was Mark Lee’s biggest fear, he didn’t want to go back to being that boy that no one noticed, yeah sure being known as the bad boy wasn’t the best thing to be known as but at least he was known now and didn’t get shoved around and ignored anymore. Things were changing too fast for Mark, but he didn’t know the full extent of it until he was hiding out in the library (just in case his ex-fan club members had decided they wanted more revenge) and he overheard two girls talking about someone of interest.

“What do you think of this new Haechan guy?”

“To be honest he just seems to be obsessed with ruining Mark Lee’s life”

“Exactly what I was thinking! I’ve not even seen him do anything to anyone else, apart from that one kid the first day”

“It’s like he doesn’t know what Mark Lee is like”

 _‘Oh, thank God, my reputation isn’t too ruined’_ Mark let out a sigh of relief.

“I was thinking about that the other day actually,”

“Oh yeah thinking about Mark Lee were we” the girl playfully nudged her friend.

Mark would have shown his signature smirk if there was anyone actually there to see it, but there wasn’t so he didn’t have to worry about putting on any pretence.

“No listen you idiot, what has Mark Lee actually ever done that’s bad?” The other girl looked perplexed but deep in thought at her friends’ question. “All he really does is park across three spaces and stare at people, and it’s not like any of those things are bad considering half the carpark is always empty anyway!”

“Plus, he _is_ only using his eyes when he stares”

“EXACTLY! I don’t think this bad boy Mark Lee ever even existed”

“Much to think about.”

_‘Oh, hell no’_

Mark was furious, his heart rate picked up and he became hot all over. He didn’t want people looking down on him again, he needed to do something to show Haechan he wasn’t to be messed with and it needed to be big. Something so big it would end all of this.

He’d been searching the internet for an hour for feud ending pranks, because he wasn’t really the type to know any, and like Haechan had clearly reminded him Jell-O pranks are for five-year olds. He eventually found something of interest. It was going to take some work, he’d somehow have to find out some personal information about Haechan but lead by his fury it actually wasn’t that hard. He’d managed to bribe one of the kids that help out in the office to get Haechan’s home address for him in the promise of getting an invite to a ‘super cool party’ and it had worked. He had all the information he needed, he just needed to distribute the flyers discretely so Haechan wouldn’t find out. He got to school early and carried out his plan. Easy. He felt a bit bad, but antagonism and fury make people do crazy things. Maybe he was changing into the real bad boy after all.  

 

 

It was Saturday and about 9.30pm when Haechan heard a knock on his door. He was home alone, curled up on the couch in his living room eating string cheese watching horror movies while wearing his pink Hello Kitty pyjamas (very on brand) and a hoodie. He ignored it, he was new to the area and didn’t have any friends, plus his pizza had arrived like an hour ago. It couldn’t have been anyone for him, he just snuggled further into the couch. There was another impatient knock at the door, louder this time, accompanied by hushed shouting from the other side of the door.

_‘Do zombies knock?’_

He let out a little whimper at the thought that he was about to die without even looking remotely attractive and having to limp around forever as a zombie in Hello Kitty pyjama pants. He eventually decided to be a big boy and get rid of whoever was insisting on getting his attention. He held a breath inside his torso and forcefully let it out to steel himself as he turned the handle opening his front door, not forgetting to hide his lower half behind the door, he didn’t need to embarrass himself in front of the whole neighbourhood.

He looked into the night to find a group of around ten teenagers just stood there swaying, with the one at the front clutching some sort of paper to his hand.

“Oh shit, it’s you!”

Haechan was confused and it showed in his face.

_‘What the fuck are these people doing at my house?’_

“Bro, did you like cancel the party or something?”

_‘Bro? I am not your bro young man’_

“What party, there was never any party?”

“Erm dude, yes there is? Are you smashed already?” The ‘ _bro_ ’ laughed at Haechan clearly thinking in his wasted state he was the funniest person to ever have existed. It only angered Haechan, meaning the sass was about to leak through his pores.  

“Do I look remotely drunk to you, you inbred imbecile?” He said as his eyes widened and he cocked his head to the side.

“What did you just call me?” The _‘bro’_ was clearly offended. (Haechan probably shouldn’t have done that, I’m not sure how he’d do one against ten in a fight).

“You heard, what made you think there was a party here?” He said trying to redirect the conversation. One of the girls next to the ‘bro’ stepped forward grabbing the crumpled piece of paper from said ‘bro’s hand and passed it to Haechan. His face changing from puzzled to pissed real quick.

 

_Dear student body_

_Party at 127 Culture Street to celebrate my arrival_

_Saturday_

_9pm_

_Be there or be square_

_Keep it a secret though, don’t want the losers to find out_

_P.S. I think I should stop being an annoying brat and piss off_

If Haechan was angry before, this was something new. He looked at the group of teenagers in front of his and screwed the flyer up in anger throwing right at the dudebro’s face.

“THERE IS NO PARTY HERE”

And he slammed the door in their faces remembering to lock it afterwards. Haechan proceeded to seethe on the living room couch for the next three hours as hoards of teens turned up at his house banging on the door and shouting to be let in. Haechan ignored every single one of them being too angry to even respond. He eventually fell asleep on the couch with his fists in tight balls and his jaw clenched.

 

 

It was Monday and Mark hadn’t seen or heard anything of Haechan since last week, he was pretty pleased with himself especially considering he had Geography this morning and hadn’t seen the boy. He must have scared Haechan off with his house party prank. Mark should have known better. Yeah Haechan wasn’t as angry as he had been and had actually appreciated the effort put into the idea, but he was still annoyed.

Mark was sat at his usual table for lunch, no fan club at his side now, though he did catch Lami still staring at him an inhuman amount from their new spot.  

_‘Creepy’_

He was shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth when he heard rushed footsteps behind him and a sudden cold sensation dripping down his head. His spoon stopped mid air and he heard a very familiar bubbly laugh right next to his ear. It was milk of all things that Haechan had poured in Mark’s hair.

_‘What the fuck?!’_

“Oh Mark, you really thought you were clever, huh?” Haechan said still chuckling to himself.

Mark flipped. He doesn’t know why he did what he did but the next thing he knew Haechan was on the ground beneath him struggling against Mark’s arms that were pinning him down. Mark had never been angry enough to get physical with anyone before and it must have been evident with what seemed like the whole student body in silent shock, none more than Haechan himself who was wide eyed and seemingly on the verge of tears beneath him. Before Mark could even correct himself, he heard a loud commanding voice.

“You two, my office now!”

Thank god, a teacher that actually cares enough to stop a fight. Where have you been this whole time?! This school is ridiculous.

The gist of the meeting was Haechan and Mark scowling constantly and giving hateful side eyes to each other at every opportunity as the Principal told them that if there was any more fighting between them of any kind they’d be expelled. Luckily this time, they had just been given a warning because no ‘fighting’ had actually occurred.

Mark stormed out of the office and headed home to wash his now sticky hair.

 

 

Unknown:

Mark?

 

Mark:

Who is this?

 

Unknown:

It’s Haechan

_‘The fuck does that demon want?’_

Mark:

Are you stalking me now?

How did you get my number?

 

Haechan:

Calm down sweetheart

It’s not hard to get a number

Plus, you literally know where I live, that’s worse

 

Mark:

What do you want

 

Haechan:

Look I’m not keen on getting expelled anytime soon

I have a proposal

 

Mark:

I’m not marrying you

 

Haechan:

Don’t flatter yourself

You could never get the likes of me

 

_‘Rude’_

Haechan:

There’s not room for two of us in that school

We should have a competition

 

Mark:

Competition?

 

Haechan:

Yeah

Most detentions in the rest of the week wins

Gets the title

AND the carpark spaces

 

_‘Shit, I’ve never got detention before’_

Mark sat for a while in contemplation, he really just wanted everything to go back to normal. He knew Haechan wasn’t going to leave him alone if he didn’t just do this stupid competition.

 

Mark:

Fine

One condition

 

Haechan:

Fine what is it loser

 

Mark:

Loser has to do one thing the winner chooses

Without question

 

Haechan:

Deal

Now I need to think of something embarrassing for you to do

 

Mark did not think this through. May I remind you, he is dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill, 10 comments or kudos and I'll start writing the next chapter. It's kinda boring to write something if no one's enjoying it so I need reassurance haha!
> 
> This is the important bit, I have ideas for the competition but I need some ridiculous things too and thought it'd be nice if people [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Pandabrows)'d me with ideas! :)


	6. We Be Screaming Go, Go, Go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So no one cc'd me with ideas so these will come from the depths of mine and Casey's mind. 
> 
> I've also thought of a new fic idea involving a pregnant and annoyed Donghuck. 
> 
> Anyway comments are very welcome, I like to know you're enjoying it.

It was Tuesday. It was geography with Mr. Kim. It was go time.

Haechan had taken his now usual seat two desks to the left and one to the front of Mark, not that Mark had memorised it. Mark wasn’t sure how this game was supposed to start and was sat anxiously wringing his hands when he saw a quick movement of shiny orange hair in his peripheral vision. He turned to see Haechan looking directly at him, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he flashed a small wicked grin in Mark’s direction. Mark would be lying if he said he didn’t feel his heart skip a beat at that moment, but he’d only be lying to himself if he said it was because of the competition that was evidently about to start.

Haechan had decided it would be a good idea to only try and get detention in classes they shared so they’d know they weren’t lying about getting a detention. Mark obviously agreed to the boy’s suggestion because he was so far out of his depth he didn’t know what else to do.

Mark was snapped out of whatever daydream he was in by a loud yawning sound coming from in front of him. He focused his eyes again to see Haechan in the midst of a dramatic faux stretch of his arms. Haechan then took a deep breath and shouted,

“BORING” to the mostly silent class. The class tried to stifle their giggles at how Mr. Kim was obviously taken aback.

“Haechan, am I boring you?” He said, irritation evident in his voice at having to deal with yet another little shit in his class room.

“Actually Steve, you really are,” Haechan deadpanned while cocking his head to the side in defiance, “Volcanoes are so 2007” Another round of sniggers came from the teens.

Mr. Kim fully turned his body, DVD in hand, “My name isn’t _Steve,_ it’s Mr. Kim you imbecile, now quieten down and enjoy the rest of the volcano film we started last lesson” He said in finality to silence the petulant boy. Haechan just pursed his lips and furrowed his brows in annoyance that his attempt to get detention hadn’t gotten him very far… yet.

Mark was trying to stifle a giggle throughout the interaction biting on his lips to prevent it leaking out while thinking how funny Haechan actually was when his annoying personality wasn’t directed towards himself. But then it occurred to him that Haechan was winning at this point and he needed to up his game.

About five minutes into the screening Mark had an idea.

“Steve, you know Dantes Peak isn’t exactly educational, right?” Mark glanced to Haechan with playfulness in his eyes after his announcement to find similar eyes already looking back at him.

“For the love of god my name’s not Steve, now shut up Mark” Mark stayed silent for a while not used to being scolded by teachers. It’s a good job the room was dark, or everyone would have been able to see his embarrassment evident as red blotches appearing on his face and ears. He saw Haechan giggling in the corner of his eye and decided it was too late to back out.

“Oh Mr. Volcano man, I don’t think that’s a good idea!” Mark started making his own commentary on the film much to the amusement of his classmates who hadn’t ever seen this comedic side of him, but also to the disdain of Mr. _Steve_ Kim, who just ignored him in an attempt to stop the behaviour.

“Drive faster Mr Volcano man!” Mark shouts dramatically while covering his eyes with his hands, followed by “Steve, are you sure this is geography and not sex education because there seems to be something going on between Mr. Volcano man and that Rachel?” Haechan couldn’t hold his boisterous laugh any longer and Mark giggled softly with pride at making the teacher slam his hands down on his desk and point to the door.

“OUT MR. LEE! Oh, and don’t think you’re not getting a detention because of this!” Mark packed his things, smile still evident on his lips and caught Haechan’s eyes with his own, telepathically telling him it was 1-0. It seemed to only spark a fire in Haechan’s eyes though and Mark didn’t know what to make of it.

 

 

It was after lunch during gym class when Mark felt a presence stood directly behind him, he felt the breath that accompanied a soft laugh on the back of his neck giving him goosebumps all over. It was obvious who it was, but Mark didn’t turn around to acknowledge Haechan’s presence in favour of paying attention to Coach Seo talking about strategies in soccer, because it was something he actually enjoyed.

“That was pretty funny what you did in geography,” Haechan whispered and then paused to let out a breath beside Mark’s ear, “I didn’t think you had it in you to actually speak in front of other people” He said with a accompanying patronising snigger.

Mark furrowed his brows at the comment and barely moved his lips to reply, “It’s a choice not to speak to others, I mean you’re the most interesting kid here and I find you unbelievably irritating, so imagine how I feel about the rest of these clones?” Haechan’s eyes widened and his face became puzzled, he turned his head more towards Mark who was still intently facing the coach, “Anyway, it got me in the lead didn’t it?” Mark let out his own patronising inaudible laugh. Haechan’s features softened into a smile.

“For now, Lee, for now” He whispered while backing up from Mark, missing the smile that began to grow on Mark’s face as he did.

Haechan was suspiciously well-behaved during gym class, and it was a good job Mark had actually paid attention to what the coach was saying before because he actually managed to use some of the strategies against Haechan once or twice to win the 5-a-side matches he had against Haechan’s team. At the end of the class Coach Seo was putting the soccer balls away in the supply closet when Mark jogged up to Haechan to gloat about him not only being a winner in their competition but now also soccer.

He reached the boy and nudged him with his shoulder, confidence coming from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. “Don’t be sad Haechan, we can’t all be one of life’s winners” condescension oozing from his whole being. Haechan stopped and turned his body to fully face Mark, making the latter tense thinking he was about to get yet another black eye courtesy of the miniature devil in front of him, but all he got was a blinding smile as Haechan put his hands on his hips and showed his wicked smile once more.

“Oh really?” The boy said before dropping his hands from his hips and walking back inside the gym with purpose. Mark could only watch fixed in place by the door concerned by the cryptic remark.

Haechan stood at the supply closet door for only a few seconds before Coach Seo noticed his presence.

“Oh, Haechan it’s just you,” the coach stood fully from his bent position deep in the closet before continuing, “Is there something I can help you with?” Haechan just smiled sweetly at the unsuspecting prey inside the small room before slamming the door shut abruptly and shoving a hockey stick he had acquired through the two door handles effectively locking the educator inside. Haechan’s laugh echoed in the space.

Coach Seo began pounding on the door shouting Haechan’s name saying he would have detention until the day he died. Haechan noticed the hockey stick beginning to splinter and took off running towards Mark near the door while letting out an ‘Oh shit’ before laughing and giggling some more shouting at a bewildered Mark to run.

Both boys ran towards the locker room giggling and out of breath, finally stopping, Haechan with his hands on his knees.

“I guess it’s 1-1 now then” Mark said when his laughter had died down enough.

“I think you’ll find it’s 1-infinity Markles” and they both erupted in laughter again.


	7. I Just Wanna Dance The Night Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever to write and to be quite honest it was very difficult and I hated it.
> 
> This whole fic was supposed to only be 5k.
> 
> Kill me. 
> 
> Comment your thoughts please.
> 
> If anyone wants some angsty-sad-but eventually uplifting and happy times go check out my other fic here, it's quite long but if you make it to the end you'll see why I like to promote it.

As of Wednesday morning, the score was 1-4 to Haechan, Coach Seo had actually only given Haechan detention for the rest of the week and not to infinity like he had promised much to the ~~relief~~ disappointment of Haechan. Mark laughed at the way Haechan had pouted all the way through detention that evening at the injustice and insincerity of Coach Seo’s words. ‘ _All men do is lie’ ‘No Haechan, it’s just that no one wants to have to put up with your face in their detention room until the end of time’ *Smack on the shoulder* ‘You little bitch!’_

The game continues.

 

Date: Wednesday AM

Location: Geography

Mission: Get Detention

 

It was hot and stuffy in the classroom. Mark was attempting to hold back escaping yawns, trying desperately not to fall asleep, the scratching of pens on paper being the perfect lullaby to his ears. It was during a particularly large yawn that Haechan turned his head and gave Mark the look. Mark snapped his mouth shut in embarrassment of being caught with his mouth wide open, but also because he knew exactly what that look meant and he wanted to give Haechan his full attention. It’s the look Haechan has in his eyes when he’s about to do something questionable, it was accompanied by that smirk that seems to also spark heat inside Mark’s body. Maybe it’s the danger, maybe it’s because Mark’s come to realise it’s a smile just for him, boys are weird, who knows, Mark certainly doesn’t. He instinctively smiled back trying not to gain too much attention from his peers, he kinda liked having a secret between him and Haechan, it kinda feels like having a friend, something he hasn’t had in a while.

The class were currently sat silently writing a page worth of words on what they had learnt about volcanoes from watching Dantes Peak.

‘ _I learnt absolutely nothing Steve, other than not to be an idiot and live next to a volcano. I maybe also learnt that Pierce Brosnan was damn fine back in the day. 12/10 would let him rescue me in an emergency situation’_

When Haechan suddenly became the world’s greatest actor. He abruptly threw his pen on the floor and went into code red panic mode, screaming and gripping on to his desk with both hands.

“STEVE! Oh My god Steve!”

Mark is a bit confused as to where this is going but is excited to watch Haechan walk down the red carpet at the Oscars one day, _‘I wonder what he would wear, I bet it’d be something sparkly but classic at the same time… Oh my god, stop’_

Mr. Steve Kim let out a dramatic frustrated sigh at a level to rival his teenage nightmare and responded without removing his eyes from the essays he was marking “I do not acknowledge Steve as a name I will respond to.” He deadpanned and continued on with his marking.

“Well to be fair Steve you just did!” A death glare may have been directed his way from Mr. Kim, “Anyway! It’s an emergency!” Haechan put full strain and panic into the last sentence. At this point all the kids in the class were staring at Haechan wondering what the fuck kind of drugs this kid was on and what he was going to do this time, and then it all suddenly became apparent.

All Mark heard was a shout “The floor is lava!” and the screech of a chair along the ground.

Before Mark could acknowledge what had happened all he could see was Haechan giggling while jumping from desk to desk much to the amusement of the other students.  

“We gotta go Steve, did you learn nothing from Dantes Peak?! Timing is key!” Haechan couldn’t hold back the giggles as he was being chased around the classroom by Steve, he launched himself on to Mark’s desk with his knees slamming into the wood, Mark gripping on to his wrists to steady the intruder. Haechan nearly headbutted Mark but they were both laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, breath fanning across each other’s cheeks and lips, they locked eyes and become paralysed in each other’s gazes. Big mistake. Suddenly Haechan is off his desk and on the floor with a loud “Whoa” being thrown up into the air. Mark abruptly stood and loomed over the desk trying to figure out why he was no longer looking into two dark pools of mischief and joy. Turned out Steve had used to opportunity to pull Haechan backwards off the desk by his collar and feigned ignorance to his unprofessional actions while shouting “OUT!” at the top of his lungs walking back to his desk trying to bite back the smirk that was attempting to plaster itself to his lips ‘ _1-0 to you Steve, wait your name isn’t actually Steve you idiot! You spend too much time here, get a hobby!’._

Mark could hear Haechan laughing as he walked down the hallway, Mark couldn’t help but smile.   

 

 

The week continued like that. In afternoon gym class, Mark set the fire alarm off, a classic. Haechan responded by acquiring a fire extinguisher and covering the class in foam because he ‘panicked’ and didn’t want anyone to die. The whole class ended up being sent home because they couldn’t stop vomiting and he also maybe caused Coach Seo to be on the brink of an aneurism.  

On Thursday Mark jumped out of the Geography class window while shouting ‘ _Dobby is free!_ ’ at the top of his lungs because he didn’t want to answer Steve’s stupid question on Pompei, it was the ground floor, he lived. He could hear a familiar laugh and a very distinct ‘ _I don’t get paid enough for this shit!’_ as he legged it across the field to safety. Not to be outdone, later that day Haechan burned ‘Steve’ into the football field with bleach he stole from the chem labs ‘ _Mark can’t possibly beat this’_ he thought as the smell burned his nostrils. But in the end Mark ended up with five detentions for that particular prank thanks to a case of mistaken identity. _‘I don’t know how someone confused us, you have terrible style’ ‘We’re literally wearing the same hoodie’ ‘Get the fuck out Mark Lee.’_ ‘ _Are you sure I’m Mark? I could be Haechan’_ a swift punch to the shoulder ensued. Haechan was pissed and Mark just laughed his ass off at the effort Haechan went through to no avail.

_Haechan 6 Mark 7_

When Friday finally came Mark was feeling slightly dejected, it was the final day of the competition and he would no longer have any excuse to sneak glances at Haechan during class and share knowing smirks in the hallway. Mark had come to realise that Haechan was just mischievous not necessarily bad and if he was honest with himself he quite liked the feeling of always being kept on his toes.

They gave each other knowing looks as they entered the geography classroom for the final time that week. Mark usually turned up with no sort of plan as to what mischief he was going to achieve in the classroom, taking inspiration from the actions that surrounded him or the daydreams he would often find himself in. However, it was quite obvious from the giant bag Haechan had brought with him that he had planned something spectacular for his Geography finale, which made Mark both suspicious and terrified at what he had to go up against. The giant bag didn’t go unnoticed by Mr. Kim either who gave Haechan a suspicious glare as soon as he entered the room earning a nod of acknowledgment in his direction accompanied by a serious monotone “ _Steve”_ as Haechan pretended that everything was quite normal despite the very full rucksack that covered over half his body being present. Mr. Kim just kept his lips tightly shut as he eyed Haechan walking through the desks to his seat, apologising as he hit every student along the way. Mark just quickly found his seat feeling both excitement and dread at what was to come.

But nothing came. The class was uneventful for the first thirty minutes, Haechan hadn’t attempted to even chat back to the teacher and Mark didn’t want to start anything and miss whatever Haechan had planned. There was a weird tension in the room. Especially when Mr. Kim had told the students to work through the textbook questions about their current topic with the person sat next to them. Mark was anxious and knew this was when Haechan would strike.

It wasn’t obvious at first, Haechan pulled a small black rectangular object from his bag and placed it on the table in front of him. No one even paid any attention apart from Mark, who couldn’t remove his eyes from his rival as he fiddled with his phone and the first chords of a recognisable [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UajuBAUkBs) blasted through what he now knew was a speaker. ‘ _He’s just playing a song? So why does he have a bag the size of Canada next to him?’_ Haechan quickly pulled a shiny weird shaped object from said bag and pursed his lips. He began playing along to the trumpet section of ‘Dance the Night away’ by The Mavericks much to Mark’s clear astonishment.

‘ _I actually love this song, oh my god, he can play instruments? What the fuck is going on?!’_

All the while Mr. Kim, and the whole class in fact, were just sat in stunned silence with their mouths slightly agape as Haechan waltzed round the desks playing his trumpet in perfect harmony to the backing track. Mark’s smile grew into a beam as he watched the orange haired boy in his element, shining like a star amongst the darkness, lighting the room with his presence and music combined. Mark was sure it couldn’t get any better until the brass section in the song stopped and Haechan opened his mouth to sing.

It hit Mark like a truck, the sweet angelic but powerful voice that left the lips he was sat staring at.

_“Here comes my happiness again,_

_Right back to where it should have been,_

_Cause now she’s gone and I am free_

_And she can’t do a thing to me”_

Mr. Kim was having a break down at this point. He had his head in his hands with his eyes closed.

_‘It’s just one of those stress dreams you’ve been having all week. This is too weird to be real. There’s literally no way.’_

Now Mark loves this song. He can’t tell you why he did what he did next but he’s fairly sure he was hypnotised by the beautiful sound coming from Haechan’s mouth.

_“I just wanna dance the night away,_

_With Senoritas who can sway,_

_Right now tomorrow’s looking bright,_

_Just like the sunny morning light.”_

The moment Haechan momentarily locked eyes with Mark he was on his feet heading in the talented boy’s direction, his smile starting to hurt his cheeks, but he couldn’t stop. Mark grabbed Haechan’s free hand in his, placing his other hand on the smaller boy’s waist and span. He span the pair through the gaps in the tables, being in his own little world looking down at the surprise written all over the face of the demonic yet angelic form in front of him. They danced as the other students clapped and sang along. Haechan only parted with his partner to stand at the front of the class to burst into the second round of trumpet playing only for the instrument to be snatched from his grip as he raised it to his lips. Mr. Kim must have realised he wasn’t dreaming some point during Mark and Haechan’s weird spinny salsa.

“STEVE! That’s my trumpet!”

“I swear to God, I will throw this out of the window and then you if you don’t leave and stop that noise coming from your desk right now.” Steve was not here to play apparently. “I’m not even going to give you detention, because me finally being able to use the expression I’m about to say to you is worth a thousand detentions in my eyes.” Or maybe he was here to play? Haechan was confused. Mr. Kim come face to face with him, “Just take your trumpet and fuck off!”. The relief and pure joy written all over Mr. Kim’s face had never been seen before and will never be seen again in his career as a teacher.

Haechan didn’t even mind that he didn’t get detention, it was worth it.

 

 

It’s at the beginning of gym class when it happened, they’re in the locker room bickering about who’s going to win their little competition with Haechan teasing Mark with all the possible things he’s going to make him do as the loser of the competition. Haechan’s name is called out over the announcement system and is instructed to report to the principal’s office. The announcer is cold and direct, it doesn’t sound like the meeting is going to be a good one. They both freeze and look at each other in silence wondering if their pranks had gone too far and the consequences of their actions were finally going to catch up with them.

The worst thing they had collectively done was burn letters into the football field so why was Haechan being called into the principal’s office at 1pm on a Friday afternoon? Afterall Mark got the blame for that particular prank anyway, so what was going on? Mark stared at the back of Haechan’s head with real concern and as the boy threw all his stuff back in his bag and walked out of the room with his head down eyes glued to the floor, apprehension evident in his posture. Mark was just left in stunned silence worried for the boy’s fate. He was torn, he should attend class, but he also needed to know what was happening and decided to follow along after Haechan, running to catch the boy. He was too late. Haechan was already in the office by the time Mark had gotten there.  

It didn’t take Mark long to get the gist of the situation. On Thursday someone had trashed one of the chem labs, which also happened to be the day that Haechan was caught on CCTV sneaking around the block being generally suspicious looking for the bleach he needed to fulfil his latest prank.

“I know all week you have been getting in trouble, it’s quite obvious you had something to do with this and as a school we take destruction of property very seriously Mr. Lee!” The principal was pissed, but Mark couldn’t hear a single sound of defence coming from Haechan in his position outside the door.

“You’re being suspended until the investigation is complete but in my opinion it’s quite obvious what you did and don’t expect to ever be allowed back on to school premises. I don’t want criminals roaming our halls, I only accepted your transfer because your father had assured me the reason for your previous expulsion was a misunderstanding. Clearly you’re just worthless kid with no future prospects.”

Mark could have sworn his heart stopped the moment he heard those words. Haechan was still not saying anything to defend himself. Mark became red and a fiery heat spread all over his body before bursting into the office slamming the door against the wall with a loud crash, much to the surprise of both the Principal and Haechan. Mark was even more enraged when his eyes caught those of Haechan’s, they were glistening as his sat hunched over in the chair looking small and vulnerable as unshed tears sat waiting to fall from his eyes. Mark knows Haechan wouldn’t go that far, he’s mischievous but wouldn’t go do something as serious as this, especially when he had nothing to gain from it.

“That’s bullshit!”

“Ah the other Mr. Lee, the partner in crime if you will.”

Mark clenched his fists and jaw with anger at the Principals nonchalant response to his outburst. He wasn’t being taken seriously.

“There’s no way Haechan would have done that! He had nothing to gain from it at all!”

The Principal’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and the atmosphere became cold. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed your behaviour this week as well Mark, I run this school, I know everything. Something has been going on between you two and I’m going to put an end to it.” Mark didn’t like the sound of where this was going and could hear the audible intake of breath that came from his PIC across the room. Mark didn’t remove his angry gaze from the principal as he spat his next sentence.

“I’m not convinced you weren’t involved Mark, so the same will now apply to you. Suspension and possible expulsion pending the results of the investigation. Now immediately leave the school premises before I have to escalate the situation further.” The principal just went back to his paperwork leaving both Mark and Haechan in stunned silence.

Words always failed Mark. They were his arch nemesis, and it was evident in the way he failed to save Haechan from being wrongly accused, instead getting both of them suspension with possible expulsion looming on the horizon. They failed him once again when Haechan pushed passed him, silent tears falling from the boy’s eyes, as Mark couldn’t find the voice to shout his friend’s name to comfort him. Mark watched the back of the boy as he aggressively swung the school doors open and left the premises, hand swiping his face as he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We going big, because I can't justify writing this instead of my two essay's due in without a good reason. 
> 
> So, when this gets to 100 kudos and 25 comments on this chapter I will start planning/writing the next chapter. 
> 
> I really need to do those essays.
> 
> No one ever cc's me man
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Pandabrows)


End file.
